“Pray as you can, not as you can’t.” — Father Dom Chapman OSB
Speaking for all the prayerless persons I have been and for the prayerful persons I hope to become, I bow before the deepest mystery of faith.
I suspect we pray far more than we know. Having a “stained-glass” image of prayer, we fail to recognize what we are experiencing is prayer and so condemn ourselves for not praying as we ought.
This month we will explore the theme of Prayer through a short story by Leo Tolstoy entitled “The Three Hermits“. Mystical, quirky, and charming, the story shows how the three holy men pray as they can, not as they can’t.
We will also look deeply into an icon written in the late 14th-early-15th C. by Andrei Rublev entitled “Troitsa,” which means ‘Trinity.’ The three hermits describe themselves as “Three are ye, three are we, have mercy upon us!” Richard Rohr, in his book Divine Dance, says: “If we take the depiction of God in The Trinity seriously, we have to say, ‘In the beginning was the relationship’.” The icon portrays a sense of mystery, inviting us to behold and reciprocate its gaze, drawing us into the very essence of prayer.
Begin by reading Thomas Merton’s “Prayer That Anyone Can Pray“. Reflect on it. If it helps listen to Fr. James Martin read it.